Friday, December 29, 2017

The Jane Austen Fun Begins Anew | Get Ready for the Mansfield Park Read-Along!


Just a few more days until 2018 begins...and what better way to start the New Year than by reading a Jane Austen novel with friends? :) The featured book this time around is Mansfield Park.

Here are the read-along details...

  • We'll read 12 chapters per week over 4 weeks (for a total of 48 chapters).
  • Discussions will take place here on Wednesdays (the 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st).
  • You can start reading on the 3rd, or feel free to begin right away!
  • Use the hashtag #MansfieldReadAlong on Twitter to share in-the-moment thoughts and favorite quotes. 

Together we've read Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Emma, and Pride & Prejudice. It's been such a blast to discuss these books with you! Now I'm looking forward to diving into Mansfield Park with a lovely copy gifted to me by a sweet friend. Will you be reading a hard copy or an ebook?

14 comments:

Miranda Atchley said...

I'm so so so excited for this, Amber! So much fun reading Austen's classics with you guys! :)

Jorie said...

Hallo, Hallo Amber! :)

Ooh my goodness - you cannot imagine my JOY seeing this post of yours today! I've been wanting to read the books my Mum and Dad gifted to me for my 1st Blogoversary for the past three years - they gave me *Mansfield Park* and *Northanger Abbey*!! I am definitely participating!! My goodness -- oh my, I need to sort out a blog post to talk about joining you - and the discussions I'll look forward too!

I do apologise for being out of touch these past years - I had a lot to shoulder personally - from adversities to an increase in my chronic migraines - somewhere along the way, I just had to focus on 'me', my blog and finding the joy of reading through it all. Not always easy, mind you but even if I muddled through here or there, I came out the other end.

The reason I am starting to re-visit with you is because I always liked reading your blog! I made a commitment to join a comment challenge for 2018 - where I visit 365 blogs, but I'm doing the challenge a few different ways - first and foremost, I want to focus on those bloggers I loved visiting before I cocooned myself to #JLASblog and secondly, I want to step outside this focus to meet new bloggers - especially those I've found over the past years - most of whom I follow on Twitter and are listed on my List! :)

This, though... wow. I feel like it's Christmas all over again! Ever since my plans for #AustenInAugust fell through, I've been trying to re-inspire myself back into Austen.

Read my #AustenInAugust Intro Post & why I love reading Jane Austen - I had a lot of fun with book photography - plus there is a link to my Guest Post that month on Roof Beam Reader. Are you a member of the Classics Club? They'd love to know about this readalong - could I share it with them?

Eek.

I have a heart full of gratitude.

*waves!*

Jorie

PS: Comments are always open on my blog if you visit after a post goes live... :)

Ooh dear - it's a PRINT copy, hardback - special edition from Barnes & Noble - a gift. A treasure really! Ooh boy! I'm EXCITED.

Carissa said...

I'm in. I've wanted to finish reading Jane Austen's novels all I have left is Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility. But with Mansfield Park I didn't want to read it alone and now I don't have too. Thanks.

Chloe the MovieCritic said...

Yay! I really want to read Mansfield Park and this is will be the perfect opportunity!!! You can count me in!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

Courtney Clark (The Green Mockingbird Blog) said...

I'm very excited to start the new year with this!!! I'll be reading a hard copy I picked up a while ago at a used book store. It has a simple cover but has a few illustrations, I believe.

Julie said...

Woohoo! I am so looking forward to this! I have a hard copy of Mansfield Park, but will be reading on a free copy I downloaded to my Kindle. A perfect time of year to curl of with an Austen novel and a cup of hot chocolate...it is soooooooo cold here!!! Thanks so much for hosting this Amber! Looking forward to everyone's thoughts!

Amber Holcomb said...

Miranda,

I'm so glad you're excited! It's definitely a lot of fun to read and discuss Jane Austen's books with this group. :) I love the extra motivation and hearing everyone's thoughts. Thank you so much for participating!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Jorie,

*Waving back!*

So wonderful to have you stop by! And I'm thrilled that you're excited about this read-along and will have the chance to read one of the books your parents gave you. :) A friend of mine gave me a copy of Mansfield Park (you know, she actually gave me my copy of Northanger Abbey too!), and I'm looking forward to finally diving in!

No need to apologize at all; I totally understand how important it is to live life beyond the Internet. ♥ (Not that connecting with other readers like you isn't wonderful, because of course it is! But it's important to take care of yourself and those you love, and I'm glad you've been able to do so.)

Anyway, you are so sweet and thoughtful to reach out to others and make it a goal to comment on other blogs. :) That's awesome! I'm honored by your kind words and your visits, friend.

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm for this read-along! Feel free to share it wherever you'd like. :) I'm not a members of the Classics Club, but I appreciate your generosity in wanting to share about the read-along with the club!

Your copy of Mansfield Park sounds lovely. ♥ Happy reading, and I look forward to discussing the book with you soon!

Hugs,
Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Carissa,

Yay! I totally agree; it's nice not to have to read the classics alone, but to have other people to discuss the book with and to keep you going until the last page. :) I hope to host a read-along for Sense and Sensibility this year too (I haven't read it either!), so maybe we can accomplish our goals together!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

MovieCritic,

Sweet! So glad to have you on board. :) Your discussion posts are so creative and fun!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! ♥

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Courtney,

Sounds like an awesome used-book-store find! That's cool your copy includes illustrations. :) Excited you'll be joining the read-along, friend!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Julie,

Yes!! Love the way you describe it; it's definitely the perfect time of year for getting cozy and enjoying a Jane Austen book indoors. :) It's really cold here too, and I'm not used to this much snow! I tend to stay inside, but Josh gets me out of the house now and then. ;)

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts too! Happy Kindle reading!

~Amber

Ginette B said...

I really look forward to this. I've read Mansfield Park several times already and gave it another shot last year, but somehow never managed to finish it that time around. So, it will be good to do so this time - and have the extra motivation of having others reading it with me, so-to-speak. It'll be fun to see what everyone thinks about the book, the characters and the plot, and I suppose I may even gain some new insights from reading about other people's views :-) Thanks for organising this!

Amber Holcomb said...

Ginette,

So glad you could join us! That's awesome you've already read Mansfield Park several times. :) I bet you'll have a lot of great thoughts to share with us! I know I'm definitely grateful for the extra motivation of reading this book with others, as well. Thank you for your interest in the read-along!

~Amber